,    ,.  ..xERARY-  Cop.  2.  Li  "^ 

CONNECTICUT  m  o  /]  ?-S 


AGRICULTURAL  EXPERIMENT  STATION 

NEW  HAVEN,  CONN. 


BULLETIN   175,  FEBRUARY,  1913. 


THE  COST  OF  AGRICULTURAL  LIME 
IN  CONNECTICUT. 

By  E.   H.  Jenkins  and  J.   P.   Street. 


The  Bulletins  of  this  Station  are  mailed  free   to   citizens  of  Connecticut 
who  apply  for  them,  and  to  others  as  far  as  the  editions  permit. 


COfflECTICUT  AfiEICDLTURAL  EXPEMENT  STATION. 


OiFIFIOElSS    -A.ISriD    ST-A.^"JP. 


BOARD  OF  CONTROL. 

His  Excellency,  Simeon  E,  Baldwin,  ex  officio,  President. 

Prof.  H.  W.  Conn,  Vice  President Middletown 

George  A.  Hopson,  Secretary Wallingford 

E.  H.  Jenkins,  Director  and  Treasurer New  Haven 

Joseph  W.  Alsop. Avon 

Wilson  H.  Lee Orange 

Frank  H.  Stadtmueller Elmwood 

James  H.  Webb. Hamden 


STATION    STAFF. 

Administration.  E.  H.  Jenkins,  Ph.D.,  Director  and  Treasurer . 

Miss  V.  E.  Cole,  Librarian  ajtd  Stenographer. 
Miss  L.  M.  Brautlkcht,  Bookkeeper  and  Stenographer- . 
AVii.LlAM  Veitch,  In  Charge  of  B-nildings  and  Grotinds. 

Chemistry. 

Analytical  Laboratory.     John  Phillips  Street,  M.S.,  Chejnisi  in  Charge. 
E.  Monroe  Bailey,  Ph.D.,    C.  B.  Morison,  B.S., 
C  E.  Shepard,  Assistants. 
Hugo  Lange,  Laboratory  Helper. 
V.  L.  Churchill,  Sampling  Agent. 
Miss  E.  B.  Whittlesey,  Stenographer. 


Proteid  Research. 


T.  B.  Osborne,  Ph.D.,  Chemist  in  Charge. 
Miss  E.  L.  Ferry,  A.B.,  Assistant. 


Botany. 


G.  P.  Clinton,  S.D.,  Botanist. 

E.  M.  Stoddard,  B.S.,  Assistant. 

Miss  M.  H.  Jagger,  Seed  Analyst. 

Miss  E.  B.  Whittlesey,  Herbaritim  Assista^it. 


Entomology. 


W.  E.  Britton,  Ph.D.,  Entomologist:  also  State 

Entotnologist. 
B.  H.  Walden,  B.Agr.,    D.  J.  Caffrey,  B.S., 
H.  B.  Kirk,  Assistants. 
Miss  F.  M.  Valentine,  Stenographer. 


Forestry. 


Walter  O.  Filley,  Forester;  also  State 

Forester  and  State  Forest  Fire  Warden. 
A.  E.  Moss,  M.F.,  Assistant  Station  Forester. 
Miss  E.  L.  Avery,  Stenographer. 


Plant  Breeding. 


H.  K.  Hayes,  B.S.,  Plant  Breeder. 
C.  D.  HuBBELL,  Assistant. 


The  Cost  of  Agricultural  Lime  in  Connecticut. 

By  E.  H.  Jenkins  and  J.  P.  Street. 


The  object  of  this  bulletin  is  to  answer  the  questions  which 
are  constantly  asked  us  during  the  late  winter  and  spring  about 
the  quality  and  price  of  agricultural  lime  and  where  to  get  it. 

In  the  latter  part  of  December  our  sampling  agent  visited  the 
kilns  of  western  Connecticut  and  carefully  took  samples  of  the 
lime  which  was  in  stock  and  ready  to  ship  for  agricultural  use. 
These  samples  were  analyzed  by  C.  B.  Morison  of  this  station. 

The  names  of  the  firms  offering  it  and  the  analyses  and  prices 
are  given  below. 

Ground  Limestone. 

1662.     (ten  mesh)     Stearns  Lime  Co.,  Danbury. 
1660.     (forty  mesh)       "  "       "  " 

Quick  Lime,  Granulated. 
1659.    New  England  Lime  Co.,  Danbury.     (Made  at  Adams,  Mass.) 

Hydeated  Lime,  Water-Slaked,  Special  Process. 
1657.     New  England  Lime  Co.,  Danbury,  New  Milford  kiln. 


i665 
1667 
1663 
1661 
1669 
1670 


Air-Slaked  Lime, 

Canaan  kiln ;  New  England  Lime  Co.,  Danbury. 

East  Canaan  kiln ;    "  "  ''        "  " 

Redding  kiln;  "  "  '"        "  " 

(second  grade*)     Stearns  Lime  Co.,  " 

Connecticut  Lime  Co.,  East  Canaan. 

Sold  by  Olds  &  Whipple,  Hartford.     (From  Cheshire  Lime  Co., 


.  Farnams,  Mass.) 


*  The  first  grade  was  not  in  stock. 


4        CONNECTICUT    AGRICULTURAL   STATION    BULLETIN    NO.    1/5 

Analyses  of  Limestone  and  Lime. 

Ground  Quick 

Limestone  Lime  Slaked  Lime 


Station  No 1662    1660  1659  1657    1666    1667    1663    1661  1669    1670 

Lime 45-56  46.38  90.66  45.64  42.70  42.66  50.00  68.94  49.32  65.12 

Magnesia 2.18     3.26  0.96  30.40  29.02  28.56  33.66     2.80  33.02     0.72 

Insoluble  in  acid 1.77  1.15     1.51     3.32     1.35  20.16  0.58     1.27 

Cost  per  ton*, 

in  bulk  $2.00  $2.75  $6.50  $4.50  $4.50  $4.50  $4.50  $4.00  $4.50  $6.oof 

in  paper  bags. . .  2.60  3.35  4.60 

in  burlap  bags . .  3.25     4.00  8.00  6.00     6.00     6.00     6.00     5.25  6.00     7.5of 
Cost  in  cents  per 
100  lbs.  lime-mag- 
nesia delivered  at 
New  Haven, 

in  bulk 31-4     37-8       38.8     41.1     41.4     35-3     37-6  35-8     45-5 

in  paper  bags ..  .     37.7    43.8  41.8    

in  burlap  bags . .  44.5     50.4      48.7     51.6     52.0     44.2     46.3  44.9     57.0 

The  fineness  of  the  grades  of  ground  limestone  is  shown  by 
the  results  of  the  siftings,  as  follows : 

1662  "ten  mesh"       1660  "forty  mesh" 

Finer  than  loo  mesh  zi  per  cent.  46  per  cent. 

Between  100  and  80  mesh i  4 

80     "    50     "     5  13 

50     "    30     "     8  17 

"         30     "    20     "     19  12 

Coarser  than  20  mesh  30  8 


In  our  opinion  the  "forty  mesh"  lime  is  a  more  desirable 
purchase,  though  the  lime-magnesia  costs  about  six  cents  more 
per  one  hundred  pounds  than  the  coarser  lime. 

These  two  analyses  of  ground  limestone  from  the  Steams  Lime 
Company  represent  the  rock  on  which  they  are  now  working  near 
the  surface.  The  company  states  that  it  has  even  purer  lime- 
stone uncovered  and  will  maintain  a  percentage  of  87  per  cent, 
combined  carbonate,  or  its  equivalent,  which  is  48.7  per  cent,  of 
lime.  This  would  reduce  by  two  or  three  cents  per  100  pounds 
the  cost  of  lime-magnesia  in  their  product,  as  given  in  the  table 
above. 


*  f .  o.  b.  at  kiln. 
t  Delivered. 


LIME  5 

The  fineness  of  lime  is  not  a  matter  of  indifference.  To  neu- 
tralize any  undue  acidity  of  the  soil  is  our  first  object  and  in 
many  cases  in  this  State  the  main  object.  Neither  ground  lime- 
stone nor  slaked  lime  are  freely  soluble  in  the  soil  water. 
They  are  only  gradually  dissolved,  and  the  rate  of  solubility, 
other  conditions  being  equal,  depends  on  the  amount  of  surface 
of  the  particles  exposed  to  the  action  of  the  solvents. 

Roughly  speaking,  under  like  conditions,  lime  in  particles 
i/ioo  of  an  inch  in  diameter  offers  twice  the  surface  to  solvents 
as  the  same  weight  of  lime  in  particles  1/50  of  an  inch  in  diam- 
eter and,  other  things  being  equal,  is  twice  as  quickly  soluble. 

The  Stearns  Lime  Company  sells  a  calcite  lime,  that  is,  one 
in  which  the  amount  of  magnesia  is  relatively  quite  small,  but 
most  of  the  Connecticut  lime  is  a  magnesian  or  dolomitic  lime 
containing,  roughly  stated,  about  three  pounds  of  magnesia  to 
four  of  lime.  While  heavy  doses  of  caustic  magnesia  have 
proved  injurious  in  some  cases,  in  other  cases  magnesian  lime- 
stones have  been  preferred  to  pure  limestones  for  farm  uses. 
In  the  present  state  of  our  knowledge  and  at  the  usual  rate  of 
liming  we  are  justified  in  valuing  Hme  and  magnesia  together 
and  regarding  the  magnesian  lime  and  calcite  lime  as  equally 
valuable  on  the  land,  though  if  liming  is  repeated  several  times 
we  recommend  the  use  occasionally  of  calcite  lime  by  itself,  since 
lime  is  more  extensively  taken  from  the  soil  by  the  crops  and 
by  drainage  than  magnesia. 

The  special  freight  rate  on  ground  limestone  in  car-lots  from 
Danbury  is  $1.00  per  ton  to  points  west  of  the  Connecticut  River 
and  $1.25  to  more  eastern  points.  The  rates  from  Danbury,  as 
well  as  from  other  places  in  the  State,  on  burned  lime  are  dif- 
ferent for  the  several  delivery  points.  It  is  $1.40  per  ton  to 
New  Haven,  and  for  purpose  of  comparison  we  have  calculated 
all  costs  delivered  at  this  point. 

The  prices  given  in  the  table  represent  regular  market  quota- 
tions. Special  terms  in  cases  of  large  purchases,  etc.,  may  be 
slightly  lower. 

Lime-Kiln  Ashes. 

These  are  mixtures  of  the  ashes  of  wood  used  in  roasting  lime- 
stone with  large  amounts  of  fine  lime  which  fall  into  the  furnace 
from  the  roasting  lime  above.     They  therefore  contain   small 


6        CONNECTICUT   AGRICULTURAL    STATION    BULLETIN    NO.    1 75 

amounts  of  phosphoric  acid  and  potash,  as  appears  in  the  follow- 
ing analyses : 

1665.    New  England  Lime  Co.,  Canaan  kiln;   not  under  cover. 

1668.       "  "  "       "     East  Canaan  kiln;    not  under  cover. 

1658.       "  "  "       "     New  Milford  kiln;    under  cover. 

1664.       "  "  "       "     Redding  kiln. 

Analysis  of  Lime-Kiln  Ashes. 

Station  No 1665  1668  1658  1664 

Lime  30.04  36.84  44.46  42.90 

Magnesia   902  14.68  19.54  9-38 

Insoluble  in  acid 2.82  4.15  1.30  2.44 

Moisture    21.66  10.81          

Phosphoric  acid   0.99  i.ii  1.31  1.99 

Potash    4.22  1.09  2.00  6.60 

Cost  per  ton, 

in  bulk   $4.50  4.50  8.00  8.00 

in  bags   6.00  6.00  9.00  9.00 

Cost  in  cents  per  100  lbs.  of  lime- 
magnesia  in  car-lot's  at  New 
Haven* 

in  bulk   19.5  39.5  52.0  21.0 

"  bags    38.6  54.1  59.8  30.6 

The  analyses  show  the  large  range  in  the  composition  of  lime- 
kiln ashes.  The  smaller  relative  amount  of  magnesia  in  1664 
and  the  very  high  per  cent,  of  potash  indicate  only  a  small  admix- 
ture of  lime  with  wood  ashes.  This  abnormal  composition  makes 
it  doubtful  whether  it  represents  the  general  run  of  the  ashes. 

The  average  amounts  of  phosphoric  acid  and  potash  in  thir- 
teen samples  of  lime-kiln  ashes  analyzed  here  in  the  last  few 
years  have  been  2.07  per  cent,  of  potash  and  1.12  per  cent,  of 
phosphoric  acid. 

Attention  is  called  to  The  Grangers'  Lime  &  Marble  Company, 
of  Danbury,  which  expects  about  the  first  of  April  to  put  ground 
limestone  on  the  car  in  bulk  for  $1.50  per  ton  at  their  Massachu- 
setts works,  now  under  construction. 

Ground  Oyster  Shell  Lime. 
If    as    finely   ground   as   limestone   this   material    should   be 
equally    valuable    for    liming    soils.      It    is    a    by-product    in 
making  shells  for  poultry  and  in  the  manufacture  of  plastering 
material. 

*  Allowing  4  cents  per  pound  for  phosphoric  acid  and  4%  cents  per 
pound  for  potash. 


LIME  7 

A  sample  from  a  heap  of  this  by-product,  lying  out  of  doors, 
had  the  following  composition  : 

Water 11.76 

*Carbonate  of  Lime 73-46 

Insoluble  in  acid 10.78 

Other  matters,  by  difference  4.00 

100.00 

Finer  than  100  mesh 2  per  cent. 

Between  100  and  80  mesh 11 

"         80    "    50      "      14 

50    "    30      "      25 

"  30    "    20      "      17 

Coarser  than  20  mesh 31 

100 

This  is  too  coarse  for  profitable  use.  It  could,  however,  be 
easily  ground  to  proper  fineness. 

The  analyses  given  in  this  bulletin,  made  on  samples  taken  with 
great  care,  represent  quite  fairly  the  average  composition,  but 
single  car-loads  may  be  expected  to  show  some  variations. 

A  sample  of  a  car-lot  needs  to  be  drawn  from  all  parts  of 
the  car  while  unloading,  these  samples  should  be  very  thoroughly 
mixed  together  and  a  sample  of  at  least  a  pint  of  the  mixture 
taken  for  analysis. 

The  Station  before  undertaking  an  analysis  must  be  assured 
that  the  sample  has  been  properly  drawn,  otherwise  injustice  is 
likely  to  be  done  to  buyer  or  seller. 

Small  samples  of  lime  in  various  forms  are  often  sent  to  the 
Station  by  prospective  purchasers  which  have  been  forwarded  to 
them  by  mail  from  the  manufacturers.  These  as  a  rule  cannot 
be  analyzed. 

They  have  every  chance  to  dry  out  in  transit  and  while  they 
may  fairly  show  the  fineness  of  the  product,  they  otherwise  con- 
vey no  further  information  than  the  manufacturer's  statement  or 
guaranty. 

So  much  has  been  said  and  written  regarding  the  use  of  lime 
that  anything  further  is  unnecessary  in  this  bulletin,  which  aims 
only  to  inform  buyers  where  they  can  buy  in  this  State,  what  they 
can  get  and  in  a  general  way  what  they  must  pay. 

*  Actual  lime  41.14. 


8        CONNECTICUT   AGRICULTURAL   STATION    BULLETIN    NO.    1/5 

We  urg-e  those  who  are  liming  their  land  to  leave  a  strip 
unlimed,  in  order  to  show  whether  the  liming  has  a  striking 
effect,  and  to  wait  about  final  judgment  for  two  or  three  seasons. 
The  beneficial  effects,  while  positive,  may  not  be  immediately 
seen. 

We  also  suggest  that  less  attention  be  paid  to  the  statement 
that  lime  destroys  the  soil  humus,  and  vastly  more  attention  be 
given  to  the  need  of  constantly  putting  vegetable  matter,  from 
which  humus  is  made,  into  the  soil  in  cover  crops  and  green 
manures.  A  good  supply  of  humus  in  the  soil,  its  constant 
destruction  by  an  active  microbe  life,  and  its  constant  replace- 
ment by  vegetable  matter  are  necessary  to  increased  crop  pro- 
duction. Modem  research  indicates  that,  to  a  very  large  extent, 
fertilizers,  manures,  green  crops  and  tillage  increase  production 
above  ground  by  quickening  the  microbe  life  within  it. 


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